Last week, Gov. David A. David Paterson, George Soros, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others announced a back-to-school “bonus.” This initiative provides $200 in stimulus payments to low-income families with school age children receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or food stamp benefits. These payments are intended to help buy school supplies and clothing for the upcoming school year.

Unfortunately some poorly informed individuals have publicly disparaged the back-to-school initiative. Those who begrudge low-income children $200 for school supplies appear to have no problem with other federally funded initiatives that provide $4,500 payments to purchase new cars or $8,000 payments to buy homes and are not targeted to those in need.

Fact is, this back-to-school initiative is remarkable. It will help hundreds of thousands of low-income families across New York State purchase the items their children need for school. As a result of these stimulus payments, local economies struggling through the recession will benefit as $175 million are pumped into retail stores across the state by families purchasing necessary school-related supplies.

What may be most remarkable is that New York was able to creatively leverage $140 million in federal stimulus dollars without having to spend a single state or county dime, thanks to the Open Society Institute and Soros, who agreed to provide $35 million to meet the federal government’s 20 percent match requirement.

Across the country, many states are struggling to find ways to take advantage of the opportunity Congress and the president provided when they created the “TANF Emergency Fund,” a small but critical piece of the American Recovery Act. The challenge arises because of strict guidelines on how the money can be used.

In addition to the 20 percent expenditure necessary, these funds are available only for specific types of services for TANF-eligible families with children. Funds must be used for either short-term, non-recurrent benefits or to create subsidized employment. The funds can’t be used to offset property taxes or for ongoing social services costs, as some have incorrectly suggested. The TANF Emergency Funds have already been used by the governor and the Legislature to create three new subsidized employment programs (transitional jobs, health care jobs, green jobs corps program) each of which will provide much-needed employment and income to New Yorkers in need.

The Paterson administration, Soros and the Open Society Institute deserve thanks, not criticism. At a time of skyrocketing unemployment and burgeoning food stamp caseloads, they have acted creatively and compassionately to help low-income students prepare for the school year.

Anne Erickson is president and Kristin Brown Lilley is legislative director of the Empire Justice Center.